Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library

The second in a series on presidential libraries focused on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s life and career through rarely seen film and…
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The second in a series on presidential libraries focused on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s life and career through rarely seen film and sound recordings, as well as letters, documents and artifacts collected from the stacks and vaults of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York. Library officials guided a tour of the library and responded to telephone calls and electronic mail. Series historian and consultant Richard Norton Smith participated from the studio in Washington, D.C.

Highlighted film, sound, documents and artifacts featured during the program included “Fireside Chats” radio addresses designed to inform the public of his plans as well bolster the spirit of the nation; and some of the secretly recorded press conferences and Oval Office conversations from the summer and fall of 1940. Roosevelt was the first president to install a secret recording device in the Oval Office.

C-SPAN’s Presidential Libraries: History Uncovered is a 12-week series airing live on location from the 12 presidential libraries spanning Herbert Hoover to Bill Clinton. close

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*The transcript for this program was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.